Former President Donald Trump continues to use his status as the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican primary to exert pressure on media outlets he perceives as being subservient to his main rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
On Friday morning, the 45th president accused Fox News of “pushing” Ron DeSantis in an all-caps post on his Truth Social platform. Trump appeared at a town hall-style event moderated by legendary presenter Sean Hannity the evening before.
He even gave his MAGA supporters a new nickname – “MAGADONIANS.”
Trump wrote: “FOX SHOULD EMBRACE MAGA. THEIR PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP IS DOWN 37% FROM JUST A YEAR AGO, ALL BECAUSE THE VERY SMART, EVEN BRILLIANT, MAGADONIANS KNOW THAT, DESPITE ALL THE FAKE LIP SERVICE, FOXNEWS IS PUSHING RON DESANCTUS, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER, BECAUSE THEY HATE THE GREATEST ‘AMERICA FIRST’ PRESIDENT TO EVER PUT ON A SUIT AND TIE, ME. THEY ARE ALL GLOBALISTS, AND GLOBALISTS WILL NEVER, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
He followed that with another all-caps declaration: “WE ARE MAGADONIANS, WE ARE VERY SMART, WE STICK TOGETHER AS ONE, WE FOLLOW TRUTH SOCIAL, WE PUT ‘AMERICA FIRST,’ AND WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'”
During the same event, the Trump-supporting crowd booed Hannity when he implied that some Republican voters want the former president to “tone it down” in order to appeal to Republican leaners and moderates.
“People ask me, ‘Why does he have to fight so hard? Why doesn’t he pick his fights a little more? Why does he have to call people names?’ And the only reason I think this is an important question is because these… I think everyone here tonight is likely voting for you, right?” Hannity said.
“The 2024 presidential election would come down to those people that maybe are in the middle a little more who want Trump to just tone it down a hair, stop a little of the name-calling,” he added.
That is when the jeers started.
“I said it’s their question. Leave me alone,” Hannity quipped to the crowd in response, adding that doing so “might help you with swing voters that are needed for you to get over the finish line.”
However, Trump immediately rejected the suggestion and then explained why.
“From the day I got in I was under siege by people that had been in Washington for many years, put in there by many different presidents, in most cases, people that were against me. They spied on my campaign. They did all sorts of things.” Trump said.
“I was under investigation and under siege, and so were my people. And if I wasn’t tough, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Trump continued. “I guarantee you that. If I didn’t fight back, I wouldn’t be here.”
Since the removal of popular host Tucker Carlson from the network, Hannity’s primetime program is experiencing the heat.
This week’s average for the program is 1.3 million, down from 1.9 million last week. The number of viewers for Hannity fell by approximately 600,000 to 1.3 million.
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
“Fox fired Carlson, its most-watched on-air presence, last month following a steady string of controversies and dwindling participation in his primetime show by premium advertisers. Fox News’ rating performance declined around 50% in the key adults 25-54 audience demo in the immediate aftermath of Carlson’s final April 21 show,” AdWeek reported. CONTINUE READING…
